CNN’s POLITICAL GUT CHECK | for May 16, 2014 | 5 p.m.
— n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

VA OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN WAKE OF SCANDAL OVER WAIT TIMES, CARE … A top official at the Department of Veterans Affairs has resigned amid the growing scandal about wait times and care at veterans’ hospitals, the department’s leader said Friday. News about the resignation of Dr. Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health in the Department of Veterans Affairs, came one day after he spoke at a Senate hearing about the issue alongside Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. Petzel was scheduled to retire sometime this year, the department said in 2013.

HOUSE VETERANS' AFFAIRS CHAIRMAN JEFF MILLER: “Today’s announcement from VA regarding Undersecretary for Health Robert Petzel’s ‘resignation’ is the pinnacle of disingenuous political doublespeak.”

CNN’s POLITICAL GUT CHECK | for May 13, 2014 | 5 p.m.
— n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

ROVE WALKS BACK CLINTON 'BRAIN INJURY' SUGGESTION AFTER COMMENTS ATTACKED … Karl Rove is walking back his comments suggesting that Hillary Clinton suffers from a brain injury, telling Fox News Tuesday, "No, no. I didn't say she had brain damage. She had a serious health episode … My point was that Hillary Clinton wants to run for president, but she would not be human if this didn't enter in as a consideration. My other point is this will be an issue in the 2016 race whether she likes it or not. Every presidential candidate is asked for their health records.”

The New York Post’s Page Six gossip column reported Tuesday that Rove, the mastermind behind George W. Bush's two presidential election victories, said at a conference last week that Clinton spent “thirty days in the hospital” in December 2012 after suffering from a blood clot, and that “when she reappears, she's wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what's up with that." The Post also reported that Rove repeated the claim to the audience a number of times.

— n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING … CLAY AIKEN PRIMARY OPPONENT DIES ... Keith Crisco, who was locked in a primary runoff for a Democratic congressional seat in North Carolina with Clay Aiken, has died, according to the company he co-founded and a Democratic source. Details of his death were not immediately clear. He was running a very close second in the primary battle in North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District, around 300 votes behind Aiken. Final results of the race had been expected this week along with a decision on whether Crisco would ask for a recount if the situation hadn't changed.

CNN’s POLITICAL GUT CHECK | for May 9, 2014 | 5 p.m.
— n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BENGHAZI PANEL CREATED, DEMS STILL WEIGHING OPTIONS …Will it be a boycott or a chaperone? House Democrats remained undecided Friday on whether they would join a select committee created by majority Republicans to investigate the Benghazi terror attack. The chamber's Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, described a split in her caucus over the matter in remarks to reporters that lambasted Republicans for what she called a "political stunt," "subterfuge" and a "diversionary tactic."

Boehner, meanwhile, named the seven Republicans to serve on the new panel chaired by GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, a former prosecutor. Joining Gowdy will be Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Susan Brooks of Indiana, Mike Pompeo of Kansas, Martha Roby of Alabama, Peter Roskam of Illinois and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia.

In a letter sent to Speaker Boehner later Friday afternoon, Pelosi stated that her caucus is still reviewing Boehner’s proposal, saying it “does not prevent unacceptable abuses by Chairman Issa in any meaningful way.” – Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh and Tom Cohen

FUN FACT: Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia is the only lawmaker of the seven GOP members named to the select committee that is not an attorney. (h/t Virginia Nicolaidis)

CNN's GUT CHECK | for May 7, 2014| 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

PUTIN SAYS BORDER TROOPS GONE … Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian troops have withdrawn from the Ukrainian border, speaking at a press conference with the head of the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE), after the two met in Moscow Wednesday. "We were told repeatedly that our forces by the Ukrainian border were a source of concern,” Putin said. “We have withdrawn our forces and they are now not on the Ukrainian border but are carrying out their regular exercises at the test grounds. This can be easily verified using modern intelligence techniques, including from space, where everything can be seen."

CNN's GUT CHECK | for May 6, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

WH REPORT: Climate change is happening now, and it is alarming … Flooded rail lines. Bigger, more frequent droughts. A rash of wildfires. Those are some of the alarming predictions in a White House climate change report released Tuesday, part of President Barack Obama's broader second-term effort to help the nation prepare for the effects of higher temperatures, rising sea levels and more erratic weather. Kevin Liptak and Jethro Mullen

CNN's GUT CHECK | for May 5, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

POLL SHOWS SLIGHT ADVANTAGE FOR GOP IN 2014 …A new CNN/ORC poll shows that Republicans have a small advantage in the "generic ballot" question that monitors how Americans may vote in this year's congressional elections. But even a small advantage on that question - as well as other measures - suggest that 2014 could be a good year for GOP candidates.